


Grumpy Bucky

by VoyageBoots



Series: Clearing out my story files [2]
Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-02
Updated: 2016-01-02
Packaged: 2018-05-11 05:49:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5616061
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoyageBoots/pseuds/VoyageBoots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Archiving something from a brief challenge fill, the grumpy cat bucky fic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grumpy Bucky

**Author's Note:**

> I never posted this to ao3 because I meant to someday flesh it out more. I've since given up xD  
> This was a prompt from the Bucky grumpy cat face saving No.

Bucky’s back in daily therapy sessions and he hates it. He’d been down to just Monday, Wednesday, Friday but he’d had a series of crappy days that culminated in him running away from the grocery self-checkout, tripping over an idiot with a cat on a leash of all things, smacking into a parker meter and falling down on a Girl Scout cookie stand instead. Steve had run after him but only managed to stare in horror. Unfortunately, someone had caught it on video and it went viral. At least Bucky’s face wasn’t that visible in it. No one’s letting him live this one down.

 

“It’s like a new aggressive form of failing at parkour. Aren’t you supposed to be some sort of super assassin?” Stark cackled at the dinner table.

 

“Someone’s put it to krumping music, and the original ‘Captain America’s shock and awe at tripping guy’ is up to 5 million views” Barton announces with glee. Bucky decides he really doesn’t feel hungry anyway and bails, avoiding Steve’s disappointed face.

 

He calls Sam instead as he curls up on Steve’s sofa. He’d rather curl up with the pillows on Steve’s bed that smell like Steve but therapy says he has “separation anxiety” and has to try being in his own room with all these stupid checklists for bedtime routines instead of the pillow that smells like Steve.

 

“Hey Bucky.” Sam answers, Bucky can hear the clang of pots in the background. Sam had stayed in DC, with his job at the VA.

 

Bucky doesn’t bother responding. They’d stayed with Sam for three months before moving to New York. Steve wanted to be back where they were from, and the Avengers where here. Bucky hadn’t really cared as long he got to follow Steve. Now Bucky wishes they’d stayed with Sam and Sam’s tiny but quiet apartment.

 

“Having one of those days are you?” Sam’s used to Bucky’s bad days, or maybe just people having bad days and carries on the conversation alone leaving space if Bucky wanted to talk. “I’m making pasta and eating it with proper sausage in the sauce none of this meatball crap Steve always wants to put in his. You’d think his stubbornness would have learned to recognize good tasting food by now… The new guy came back for Wednesday meetings this week, still hasn’t talked yet but Sue, the navy piolet got him to trade phone numbers so hopefully he starts reaching out. Then Thursday’s staff meeting almost came to blows over which movie should be the next movie night…”

\-------

Bucky knows better and yet he can’t help but do it anyway. Most of the Winter Soldier’s skills disappeared with the brainwashing but Bucky still manages to sneak out after the Avengers are called out. He just wants to keep an eye on Steve, who still hasn’t learned to be more careful and it is times like these that Bucky misses the rest of the Howling Commandos the most. They’d known that Steve was a suicidal idiot and to keep a proper eye on him in a fight. The new team, the avengers, seems to believe all the hype about Captain America being an outstanding man and miss the obvious – that Steve is reckless when it comes to saving people. So Bucky’s just going to follow along just in case.

 

Bucky’s not expecting the mutant.

 

“Now who’s this tagalong? Oh I recognize you! You’re tripping guy! Not just a random passer by then? You could have hurt that poor cat you know, too busy rushing off to watch where you’re going are you? Well let’s see how you like it!”

 

And suddenly Bucky’s world is growing and everything feels wrong, and Bucky’s out.

\---

Bucky wakes up to arguing.

 

“I’m telling you he’s a Ragdoll cat, just look at the coloring!”

 

“He’s definitely a snowshoe have you seen his face!?” Stark is waving a phone at Barton and why do they look so much bigger than usual?

 

“Bucky? You okay? Now don’t panic” That last voice is Steve and Bucky turns to look at him and that’s when he realizes he has paws instead of hands and he’s on something cold in a lab and Bucky officially has left the sane train and is gone. He hisses, flails, manages to scratch Stark who tries to grab him and runs out the hall. He might panic black out there for a bit, but when he can focus on his surroundings again he realizes the room smells even more like Steve now, and it’s rather like what Steve’s room would look like if one was suddenly the shortest person ever. The bed when he eyes it is too exposed in the center of the room, and besides he’s supposed to be on his own now – but no one ever said anything about under it, and it looks all safe there. So Bucky wiggles his way under the bed, dodging the case of art supplies and the random sock Steve must have lost. It’s dark and calm and it smells wonderfully of Steve. And so Bucky dozes off, the best he’s felt in weeks.

 

\---

Bucky wakes up and it smells even more like Steve now – which makes sense when Bucky opens his eyes and sees Steve peering under the far edge of the bed, comically big from Bucky’s new point of view.

 

“Don’t panic”

 

Bucky levels an unimpressed look at him.

 

“I’m going to pull you out of there. You had us searching the whole Tower before anyone remembered to ask JARVIS.” Steve doesn’t wait but gently grabs him. Bucky doesn’t want to scratch Steve and is trying to figure out how to retract his claws to make a polite get away, but then Steve is stroking his back and it feels so good.

Bucky is appalled to realize the noise he’s making could be called purring. But then Steve sits down on the bed and manages to find that perfect spot behind his ear and Bucky stops caring.

 

\---

 

Everyone is still unbearable on Steve’s new team but now Bucky can climb on top of tall things and glare down at them. He likes lurking under furniture and jumping out at them. Barton makes the best noises. Stark had ordered cat toys but Bucky just glares at them too. The PA for one of the scientists downstairs (Bucky’s not sure which, he avoids all labs especially when human) had been trying to get him out from under the coffee table for about an hour.

 

“Come on Bucky, Steve made me promise to make sure you got food today. He’ll be back this evening.” And Bucky appreciates Steve finding someone to do so, all the avengers had been called out save Barton left to cat sit with bruised ribs from that last fight which left Bucky in his new form. And what sort of third rate villain turns people into cats anyway?

 

“Here Darcy,” And Bucky is going to hack up a hairball on Barton’s bed later as Barton lifts up the end of the coffee table leaving Bucky exposed. The newly named PA grabs him before he can run away.

 

“Thanks Clint! Oh my goodness! He looks just like Grumpy Cat!”

 

“Who?”

 

“How are none of you internet literate?”

 

“It’s like we spend all our time saving the world or something” Barton quips but Darcy the PA is shifting Bucky to one arm as she pulls up something on her phone. And hey that does sorta look like the mirror cat Bucky saw yesterday.

 

\---

 

Bucky turns back into human eventually. He misses the Steve cuddles but he likes having thumbs again. He’s also figured out he can fit under Steve’s bed as a human after one bad panic attack but he keeps that knowledge to himself.

 

Barton keeps taking photos of actual Bucky to fill with grumpy captions and leave all over the tower, but Bucky decides Clint’s okay after the third time one shows up that perfectly expresses how Bucky feels. Bucky just gets to point at the sign when Stark starts pissing him off. Now if only he could get Steve to stop rushing into danger.


End file.
